Need You Now
by SVUCSIWTRDOOLluver
Summary: Sequel to Not A Day Goes By, which was a sequel to Please Remember Me! This is the last sequel, and hopefully a very GAbby ending! Third chapter is up, which means COMPLETE!
1. Cause I Can't Fight It Anymore

Chapter 1 of the final addition to my trio of Gabby song-fics! The first one was "Please Remember Me" and the second one was "Not A Day Goes By"

If you didn't read them: First, Gibbs and Abby are together, but he pushes her away, forcing her to leave DC. She goes to New Orleans, moves in with her brother Mark, sister-in-law Jennifer and their daughter, Lee. Mark and Jennifer are killed in a drunk-driving accident and Abby moves back to DC with Lee and Barbra, her grandmother. Gibbs tries to apologize to Abby, but she's too emotionally unstable with grief to even think about starting another relationship with him. He understands, and that's where it ended.

This song is "Need You Now" by Lady Antebellum, and it's kinda based on the video. This chapter starts out with Abby in hers and Lee's new DC apartment, thinking things over. It's been 4 months since Gibbs told Abby he'll wait for her, and she's unsure if she's ready, but everyone is trying to convince her she is. Enjoy!

--

"Looky what I drew!" Lee squealed, showing Abby a scribbled in picture of Beauty and the Beast. Abby smiled and ruffled Lee's hair, saying,

"Good job, baby!" Lee grinned and went back to scribbling happily. Abby would have to leave for work soon, and she was going to drop Lee off at Barbra's apartment (which was pretty close to Ducky's house). Barbra always delighted in babysitting little Lee, since Abby couldn't bring her to work every day.

--

When Abby got to work, she roused her babies so they were up and running when she heard footsteps and turned to see Gibbs walking in. She was more than slightly shocked, as Gibbs had hardly come down to her lab since she had returned. Abby was grateful; he wasn't pushing her at all, but she did want to see him sometimes, and he made that hard.

"What can I do for you, Gibbs?" Abby said cheerfully, and Gibbs sat down in the chair next to her, as they were in her office.

"The others won't be here for an hour, at least,"

"Probably not," Abby said slowly, trying to figure out where he was going with the conversation.

"Tell me about your brother and sister-in-law," He implored gently, leaning forward and giving her his full attention. She hadn't spoken of them to anyone in 4 months, and as her thoughts flew to Mark's handsome face and Jennifer's beauty, tears welled in her eyes.

"I, I can't, Gibbs,"

"Yes you can." He said firmly, giving Abby that feeling that she could do anything just because he believed she could. With a sigh she drifted back to her childhood and told Gibbs a lot of the thing she did with her brother. How they teased each other when they were young, how they coped together when their parents were killed in a plane crash, how she was the maid of honor when Mark and Jennifer got married, how Abby was the first person to hold Lee after Mark and Jennifer, and how the year she spent with them was one of great times and happiness.

By the time she finished, Abby's shoulders were hunched and shaking slightly in grief. Gibbs hesitated, but then pulled Abby willingly into his lap. He held her tightly and rubbed her back as she sobbed into his shirt like a helpless child. "It'll get better, Abbs, I promise you," He whispered, tears choking his throat as he held the pieces of Abby together as she fell apart. The use of his nickname for her made Abby feel a little bit better and the tears still flowed, but the sobs quieted.

Splitting the quiet was the annoying ring of Gibbs' cell phone. He muttered a string of expletives as he dug for his cell phone. Abby let out a laugh at the look on his face as he snapped the phone open and snarled, "What?"

"Uh, boss, we've got a case," came McGee's timid and frightened voice.

"I'll be up." Gibbs stated angrily and snapped his phone shut.

"Don't bite his head off," Abby said quietly from the other chair. She had gotten up and was proceeding to wipe her eyes and put her mascara back on. "Sorry 'bout your shirt," She said apologetically, and he looked down to see wet spots on his shirt, mixed with a little bit of black.

"Don't worry about it," Gibbs said dismissively, putting his jacket on and covering the stains. He bent down and put a hand to Abby's cheek, pressing his lips to the top of her head and whispered, "Hang in there, Abbs," She nodded and kept her lips sealed as he turned and walked out, heading upstairs.

_Picture perfect memories_

_Scattered all around the floor_

_Reaching for the phone, 'cause_

_I can't fight it anymore_

A couple of weeks later, Abby sat on the floor with her 2 liter bottle of Coke. She was pretending it was something alcoholic, something incredibly strong, and it was slightly working. NCIS was having a party that night, but Abby was choosing not to go, as of that moment. But who knew, she might change her mind.

The dozens of phone calls she was getting, along with the text messages certainly weren't going to change her mind. Lee was at Barbra's house, she was going to take her to the party for a while, but then take her to Ducky's house.

Abby had taken out all the pictures she had of Gibbs and had laid them out all around the floor, and she was sitting in the middle of them, swiveling her head around and staring at each one of them, remembering what happened when they were taken.

The past few weeks had been almost a blur, and she and Gibbs had grown closer than they had in 4 months. She supposed it was partly because Gibbs had stopped trying to ignore her, and because Abby had started letting people close to her heart again. That talk with Gibbs about Mark and Jennifer had really helped her emotionally, and she had started to joke and laugh a lot more.

And she was now sure that she was ready for love.

Abby's mind whirled, remembering how Gibbs had brought her Caf-Pow every morning before the team arrived, and they talked for an hour about anything and everything. One day it was Lee and what they would do when she went to school, another day it was Gibbs' adventures with her dangerous ex-wives. And he never failed to keep her supplied with Caf-Pow the rest of the day. He never let anyone else bring her Caf-Pow, and if they tried, they were subject to a glare, and usually a head-slap.

Abby knew about that, she just thought it was sweet.

_And I wonder, if I, ever_

_Cross your mind_

_For me it happens all the time_

With a sigh, she grabbed a remote and turned the radio on. As she went to change the station from Lee playing with the dial, the lyrics being sung caught her ear, and she paused a moment to listen. With a sense of recognition she looked at the clock and saw that it was indeed a quarter past 1 in the morning. She groaned out in emotional turmoil and lay back, listening the Hilary and Charles singing the chorus together.

_It's a quarter after 1_

_I'm all alone and I need you know_

_I said I wouldn't call_

_But I've lost all control all I need you now_

_And I don't know how I can do without_

_I just need you now_

--

End of the first chapter! The next chapter will be back to the beginning, only with Gibbs' point of view. Thanks so much for reading, and I hope I'm winding this story down well! Hope you enjoyed, and adios for now!


	2. Can't Stop Looking At The Door

Chapter 2 of this story is up! Like I said, this is Gibbs' POV, basically starting with his decision to help Abby with the healing process, then it'll progress to the present, where he's trying to deciding on whether to go to the NCIS party or not, with a little help from one of his friends. Enjoy!

--

Gibbs woke up at 5am, like he always did, only this time, he sat up straight, breathing heavier than usual from a freaky dream he had. It was about Abby, they always were, but this one was different. Abby had been running away from something, and when he tried to help her, something stopped him.

He looked in the opposite direction to see what was chasing Abby, and saw that it was a black shadow, whirling with scenes of a crash, and the mangled bodies of what must be her brother and sister-in-law. Then it changed, and he saw the faces of what had to be her parents. The monster kept changing shape, and Gibbs knew it was a monster of grief, grief that Abby ran from instead of trying to deal with it.

That's how he knew, when he woke up, that he needed to stop ignoring Abby. It wasn't helping her, and it wasn't helping him either.

--

The next day, he went down at the same time, and this time Abby was waiting for him. As he sat down and handed her a Caf-Pow, she straightened and said, "Your turn,"

"Okay," Gibbs said with a half-smile.

"Tell me more about Shannon and Kelly," Abby said quietly, and Gibbs closed his eyes for a moment. She thought he was going to refuse, as he had already told her a few stories about them. He surprised her by opening his eyes and saying,

"You would've liked her, Abby. You would've liked both of them. I can imagine you taking Kelly to get her first tattoo, fake of course, and Shannon flipping out on you, but then laughing about it,"

Abby laughed, as she could imagine the same thing. Gibbs continued to talk, and almost unconsciously he put his hand on his armrest, palm up, asking for her hand. She didn't hesitate as she interlinked her fingers with his, squeezing as she did so.

It went on for a few weeks, and when Gibbs went down there one morning, he found Lee sitting in Abby's chair. With a small smile he crouched down next to her, watching her color a picture of Sleeping Beauty.

"Hi Mr. Gibbs!" Lee said, still coloring. He smiled, knowing she had the same intuition that Abby had, only maybe a little more fine-tuned.

"Hey there, Lee. Nice drawing," He said, ruffling her hair a little.

"Aunty Abby gots me a colowing book of movies, and I'm colowing dem awl!" She exclaimed, and Gibbs chuckled, saying,

"And very nice coloring you're doing, too."

Abby stood in the opposite room, watching Gibbs and Lee color together. A smile appeared on her face as she knew how good he was with kids. Abby hated to interrupt them, so she didn't, she just sat down at her other desk, pulling out a folder and working on some bullets.

A half hour passed, and Lee finished coloring in Sleeping Beauty. She got out of the chair and dashed to Abby's other desk, saying, "Looky what I did, Aunty Abby!" Abby lifted her into her lap and smiled, saying,

"Good job, Lee!"

Her eyes lifted up and met Gibbs', a smile passed between them before she stood up and lifted Lee up into the air, going over to Gibbs. "Good morning," He said, lifting up her Caf-Pow.

"Morning," She said, putting Lee down in her chair and taking the Caf-Pow, adding, "Thanks."

He nodded, and followed her to her lab, leaning against her desk as she sat down. She smiled up at him and said, "You've still got that way with kids." He smiled back, letting his thoughts wander off to Shannon and Kelly, not something he would do in the company of just anyone.

_Another shot of whiskey_

_Can't stop looking at the door_

_Wishing you'd come sweeping in_

_The way you did before_

It was the night of the NCIS party, and Gibbs was standing next to his boat. The words he said to his former mother-in-law came back to him, "The only person tortured down here is me."

They rang true in every sense of the words as he downed another shot of bourbon, and then started sanding his boat. Involuntarily his thoughts strayed back to when Abby had lived there, and if he came home late and went down to his boat, she would come down, and that led to, well, other activities.

Gibbs took a deep breath and then hurled his glass at the wall with a bellow, breathing heavily and then sliding to the floor, dropping his head into his hands. He wanted Abby to trust and love him again so bad, and every time visited her in the morning that need came back sharply as ever.

He had hoped that she would see that he would never hurt her like that again as he stayed with her and they shared pretty much everything from each other's past.

His thoughts were interrupted by the shrill blasting of his cell phone. With an irritated growl he stood up and grabbed it, seeing Ducky's name across the caller ID. "Gibbs." He answered gruffly, and heard music in the background.

"Where on earth are you, Jethro? You're missing the party."

"I'm not coming, Duck." Gibbs replied coldly, and Ducky said,

"You and Abby, you're acting antisocial! Come on now, Jethro, just come and try to have fun!"

"Abby's not there?" He questioned in surprise, and Ducky's smile could be heard over the line.

"Got your attention now, have I? Good. No, she's not here, and she's not answering her cell phone."

"Something's gotta be wrong," He muttered, and Ducky said,

"Yes, something is wrong. You! That girl has been through hell, and you're still putting her through that."

"How did you get to that conclusion?" Gibbs asked, half in anger, half in shock.

"She's been ready to love you for weeks now, Jethro. She told me that herself, not so much in words but body language. All you have to do is make your move!" Ducky said, and Gibbs could tell he'd had a few drinks, otherwise he wouldn't be telling Gibbs that over the phone, much less at all.

_And I wonder, if I, ever_

_Cross your mind_

_For me it happens all the time_

"If you say so, Duck." Gibbs muttered, ready to hang up.

"Get your hide over here, and then Abby will come." Ducky said flatly and hung up himself before Gibbs could. He stared at his phone, debating with himself.

Finally, he shoved his phone into his pocket and ran upstairs, taking them two at a time. He changed quickly into a suitable outfit for a party instead of a pair of sweatpants and an NIS shirt, and then hunted for his keys before hurrying out of the house and slamming the door behind him.

He glanced at the clock and saw that it was 1:15 in them morning. Normally he'd be surprised that a party at work would last that long, but this night was anything but normal.

_It's a quarter after 1_

_I'm a little drunk and I need you now_

_I said I wouldn't call  
But I've lost all control and I need you now_

_And I don't know how I can do without_

_I just need you now_

--

Second chapter is finished! Thanks so much for reading, and only 1 more chapter to go, and this trilogy will be complete! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and adios for now!


	3. Rather Hurt Than Feel Nothing At All

Chapter 3 is up!!! This is the final chapter, and thank you so much for staying with me through this whole trilogy! If you've read the other two, you probably know (or guessed) what's going to happen, so…enjoy!

--

Abby heard her phone ring again, and filled with confidence she answered, saying, "Hello?" 

"Abby, where are you?" Tony's voice said, and Abby smiled, saying,

"Getting ready to leave, why?"

"Better be, because you're not here! It can't be a party without Abby Sciuto, the party animal herself!"

"I'm on my way, Tony. Uh, is Gibbs there?" She asked off handedly, and Tony paused, probably looking around.

"No, but Ducky's saying that he's on his way."

"Okay. I'll be there soon, Tony,"

"Good," Tony said, and hung up. Abby smiled as she ran out the door, grabbing her keys and phone, but she had to come back in to change into something different. If this was the night she planned on telling Gibbs she loved him, then she had better wear something better than a sweatshirt and short shorts.

_Yes I'd rather, hurt than,_

_Feel nothing, at all_

Abby pulled up to the party and basically ran in, shooting a quick smile at the security men on duty as she followed the blaring music to a throng of people in the lobby. She paused for a moment to scan all of the faces and spotted her friends standing in one corner of the room.

"Abby's here!" Jenny exclaimed, striding over to the young woman and embracing her tightly. The others crowded around her, and Ziva said,

"You did not answer our calls, so we got worried,"

"I'm fine, just felt like being alone for awhile," Abby said apologetically. She hadn't meant for them to get worried.

She listened to her friends talk with half an ear as her gaze swept the room again, more meticulous this time, looking for her familiar silver-haired fox.

"He's coming, Abigail," A voice said to her right, and she knew who it was before she even turned. No one else called her Abigail, and got away with it.

"You called him, didn't you?"

"I confess. You may take me away," Ducky said with a hint of a smile, holding out his wrists. Abby laughed and hugged him, saying,

"Thanks, Duck-man."

"No need, my dear. That man has been hurting you long enough. It's time he start loving you, instead." Ducky replied with a soft smile, and Abby kissed his cheek.

--

Gibbs pulled up as close to the entrance to NCIS as he could, which wasn't very close. His walk to the door started out as a brisk walk, and quickly morphed into a slow jog, and then into a full out run as he dashed through the doors. He ignored the security, who just shrugged at each other. They were used to Special Agent Gibbs acting strangely.

He found the heart of the party in the lobby, and as Abby had minutes earlier, he scanned the crowd, but didn't see the face he was looking for. He did see Ducky, Tony, McGee and Palmer standing in the corner, and he made his way over to them.

"Hello Jethro," Ducky said in welcome, Tony and McGee said, "Hey Boss" in unison while Palmer nodded and said, "Hi Agent Gibbs."

"Where'd the others go?" He questioned lowly, aimed at Ducky but Tony said,

"Jen and Ziva took Abby down to her lab, said they were going to have some 'girl time' together." His voice went dreamy as his mind went straight into the gutter.

Gibbs eyes met McGee's, who quickly slapped Tony on the back of the head. "Hey! What was that for, Probie?" Tony snapped, and McGee pointed at Gibbs, who just raised his eyebrows. "Oh. Thank you Boss." Tony added, rubbing the back of his head.

"Where?" Gibbs asked, looking at McGee.

"I think the Director's office, but they could've gone somewhere else."

Gibbs turned around without another word, as he knew exactly where Abby would've gone.

_It's a quarter after 1_

_I'm all alone and I need you now_

_And I said I wouldn't call_

_But I'm a little drunk and I need you now_

_And I don't know how I can do without_

_I just need you now_

Gibbs took the elevator down to Abby's lab, his mind whirling as he tried to think of what he could say to Abby. Then he remembered their argument outside the bar months ago, and he knew exactly what to say.

And this time, he would say it with complete truthfulness.

The elevator dinged and he stepped out, eyes scanning the lab, looking for his favorite forensic Goth. "Abbs?" He called softly, stepping inside.

"Right here, Gibbs." Abby called, poking her head out from her desk. He smiled as she got up and stepped through the sliding door entrance. "What can I do for you?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"I came here to tell you something," He said slowly, and made sure her eyes were locked on his as he said, "I love you, Abby Sciuto."

The eyes that were locked on his watered a little as she heard the truth ringing in his voice. "I love you too, Leroy Jethro Gibbs," She said with a smile and she barely took two steps towards him before his long strides had him in front of her, slipping his arms around her waist and spinning her around.

Her laughter rang out in the almost empty lab as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He finally set her down and she pressed her lips to his without any hesitation. He responded immediately, crushing her body to his.

--

Up in front of the plasma, Tony, Ziva, McGee, Ducky, Palmer and Jenny were watching the whole scene play out. When Gibbs told Abby he loved her, everyone smiled, and when she kissed him, they all let out a cheer.

"He just better not hurt her this time, or there will be hell to pay," Tony growled, remembering finding Abby broken when Gibbs had left.

"He won't," Ducky assured him, adding, "He's lived without Abby for too long, he won't do that again."

"I'm really happy for them," McGee said finally, a smile appearing on his face. Ziva gently touched his shoulder, knowing his past history with Abby.

"That's a very good thing, McGee." She said honestly, speaking from past experiences in Israel.

"Shh!" Jenny suddenly said, just as Gibbs told Abby,

"Don't go away, I'll be right back." She nodded, and Gibbs disappeared off-screen.

"Where'd he go?" Palmer whispered, and a few moments passed. Suddenly, Tony and McGee jumped, whipping around, and then Ziva and Palmer whirled around, their eyes wide from slight pain. Gibbs stood there, having slapped all 4 of them on the backs of their heads. He only glared at Ducky and Jenny, not needing to say anything at all.

Jenny quickly turned the screen off and led the way back to the party, saying, "Sorry, Jethro."

But he was already gone, heading downstairs to Abby.

--

About a half hour later, Gibbs walked back into the party, Abby at his side, both of them holding hands. "We're heading out," Gibbs said to the others, who nodded.

"See you at work tomorrow, Boss." Tony called, raising a hand in farewell.

"Maybe. Maybe not." He said, grinning down at Abby who slipped her arm around his waist.

"Maybe we'll both take a vacation," She murmured with a wicked grin.

"Maybe we'll go to Hawaii." He replied, and she wrinkled her nose, thinking of Lieutenant Colonel Mann, and added,

"Maybe we'll go to LA." Gibbs frowned a little, thinking of Eric flirting with her.

"Maybe we'll go to Paris." They both said at the same time, and started laughing.

"We could make our own memories," Gibbs said softly, and Abby kissed him, replying,

"We can make our own right here."

"Sounds good to me." He whispered as they got in his car and headed for his house, now their home again. This time, it was forever.

_I just need you now_

_Oh baby I need you now_

--

I tried not to get too sappy on you in the end, and I hope you enjoyed this whole trilogy, and this story, and this chapter! Thanks so much for reading, and let me know if you did like it, or if you didn't, what you didn't like! Thanks, and adios!


End file.
